


Delight In The Recognition

by ryekamasaki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Multi, Platonic First Year OT5, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 05:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11224056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryekamasaki/pseuds/ryekamasaki
Summary: A story of love and hope, taking a chance and seeing it through, and finding your place in the world.Tsukishima Kei isn't very impressed with soulmates, especially when it turns out he has more than one, but with a bit of work and a lot of time, things turn out better than he could have hoped.





	Delight In The Recognition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SecretMaker (sacredkind)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=SecretMaker+%28sacredkind%29).



> A special fic written for my sweet, wonderful Bre! I hope your birthday is fantastic, and your year even better, and I hope you enjoy this. I love you more than words can say!

Ever since he was young, Kei has been skeptical of the whole soulmate thing. Most people were far too excited about it, he thought, and that was tiring even when he was a child. The tattoo on his wrist had been fascinating when he was tiny, the same as it was for any person discovering something new about themselves, but the interest wore off quickly. He learned about the tattoos the same as all the other kids did, but he didn’t have an abundance of unanswerable questions like everyone else seemed to. There was really only so much that they could know for sure about it all, and Kei wasn’t interested in wasting precious time thinking of stuff that he’d be told couldn’t be answered.  
  
When he’d met Yamaguchi he’d thought that it was a bit annoying, how everyone around them had made a big deal about how they were meant to be in each others’ lives. And it was weird, with how Yamaguchi was suddenly always around, but Kei knows that was more from the situation that Kei broke up than from them discovering that their tattoos matched. The inked cogs had stayed their usual stark black, and Kei sighed at the thought that there was at least another person who was destined to be in his life, though he comforted himself with the fact that so far he hadn’t met anyone with the possibility of being a romantic match.  
  
There was really no telling how many more people he’d meet, and he’d only find out if they were romantically meant for each other when they met as well. Kei counted himself lucky that he only had one tattoo. Yamaguchi had two, himself, and Kei’s older brother had three that Kei knew of. He was happy with just the one, even if it didn’t end with only one other person. He could handle it, his mother had confided in him one night, otherwise it would’ve ended with just the one. If there were more, it was because he needed them, somehow, even if he did decide to keep their relationship platonic. They always had a choice, he knew.  
  
The tattoos meant they’d be instrumental in each others’ lives, but they weren’t completely bound into a relationship they might not want. Which is good, Kei thinks wryly to himself, when he notices the stuttering turning of the cogs on his and Hinata’s wrists at practice only a few days after they’ve met. It was already surprising enough that the four of them had met and realized that not only did they all have the same clockwork cogs inked into the skin of their right wrists, but that they still uncolored. And now it’s even more complicated, with this new discovery.  
  
He’s not sure how he feels about it, hasn’t really had enough time to process it, but Hinata lights up immediately. The volleyball that Hinata had been handing to Kei luckily still lands in his outstretched hands, though they’re both still a little caught up in watching the ink on their skin move. Kei shakes it off first and tosses the ball into the cart next to them, intent on finishing their task without interruptions.  
  
Hinata doesn’t seem to be of the same mind, but at least he doesn’t yell like Kei half expects. Instead his voice is almost a whisper, though it’s still loud enough that Kei can’t pretend not to have heard. “Tsukishima.”  
  
He doesn’t stop pushing the full cart towards the storage room. “Hinata.”  
  
Hinata, for his part, just scurries along behind him until they’re both in the storage room, and Kei frowns as he realizes that he’s let himself get stuck until Hinata decides to move out of the way. “Tsukishima, we’re _fated_.”  
  
Kei sighs. Somehow he knew he’d have to deal with the overexcited kind of people being bonded to him. Kageyama had been thankfully as unimpressed as Kei was, which he had to admit was a nice change. Hinata, though, seems like exactly the kind of person to believe in all the good in the world, including the existence of destined lovers. “Yes, apparently we are.” He turns slowly to see Hinata still beaming up at him in wonder. “You do realize it’s not set in stone, right? We don’t have to listen to it.”  
  
Hinata’s smile fades slowly, like a raincloud drifting across the face of the sun, and Kei feels a tiny twinge of something he’s not sure how to describe. Hinata twists his fingers together in a nervous gesture that Kei tells himself absolutely isn’t cute at all and speaks up again, this time a little uncertainly. “Do you. Do you not want to try? At all?”  
  
“No.” The answer is out of his mouth before he realizes, and Hinata’s face falls in surprise. Kei can feel the blush rising on his neck and face, and he can’t help rubbing at the back of his neck as he tries to backtrack. “That’s not what I meant. I guess…we can try. If you want to.” Hinata looks hopeful again, and Kei tries not to compare the sight to the newly risen sun. He grimaces, and moves his hand from his neck down to his hip instead, tries to cover up the moment of softness with something more akin to his usual nonchalance. “I wouldn’t count on it too much though, shrimp.”  
  
Hinata grins and practically skips out of the room, apparently intent on pouncing on Kageyama, content to let Kei follow them back to the clubroom without any further prompting. Yamaguchi gives him a look, a quiet little smile that says that he knows what Kei’s thinking better than he does himself. It wouldn’t surprise Kei if it were actually true. Even on the walk home he doesn’t really think about much, just listens to Yamaguchi tell him how one of their third year senpai is the match to the candle tattoo on his left wrist. Kei knows that Yamaguchi doesn’t expect any actual advice, knows that he’s content enough to talk it out without a whole lot of input.   
  
Still, Kei pipes up when Yamaguchi wonders out loud if his soulmate will be satisfied with only his romantic intentions, or if it will fall apart for his lack of sex drive. “If he’s worth being your soulmate, then it won’t matter. And if it does, then he’s not, and you can find someone better.”  
  
Yamaguchi smiles at him, and Kei pretends not to notice. “Thanks, Tsukki.”  
  
Kei grumbles a response, and the rest of the walk home is relatively quiet. When Yamaguchi turns off towards his own house with a wave, Kei’s thoughts are taken over, and he finally lets himself think. He’ll try, like he told Hinata he would, though he’s not sure if they’ll actually be able to get along enough for that kind of relationship. It will take time to tell, and time is what they have.  
  
They practice together more, when Hinata isn’t busy trying to perfect his and Kageyama’s freak move, and they pair together to stretch afterward. They wind up working together more often than not to clean the gym after practice, too, much like they had when they’d first noticed the tattoos moving.  
  
On their way home after practice Kei alters his route a little to accompany Hinata further, and the smile that Hinata gives him each time is something bright and beautiful that Kei finds himself looking forward to seeing. They get into the habit of holding hands, something that Hinata started cautiously one cheerful, sunny afternoon, slipping his fingers between Kei’s while pointing his blushing face in another direction. It’s easy to pretend not to notice, especially when his own face gets its own flush at the feeling of their hands clasped together.  
  
The four of them start to study together, too, and sometimes, when it’s just him and Hinata, Hinata will tentatively settle himself in Kei’s lap so they can work on the same paper without the awkwardness of leaning over. Hinata does learn to study better, once Kei gets a chance to figure out what works best for him, and Yamaguchi and Kageyama work together just as well. When it is the four of them, Hinata sits as close as he can, almost snug against Kei’s side, and the other two pretend not to notice, which Kei won’t admit he appreciates. At least not to their faces, though he thinks they can tell anyway, judging by the tiny smiles they wear.  
  
Really, it goes well, for a while. Kei thinks that they might just be able to make it work, and the turning of their cogs gets a bit smoother each day. Still, every time they glance at their tattoos, they’re reminded that they’re still not complete, and that takes its toll on all of them. Kei’s perfectly content to have Hinata and no one else, thinks they fit together as perfectly as anything, and he’d be willing not to bother trying with any other potential romantic suitor. He won’t mention it, not yet, but the thought of having to fit someone else makes his emotions swirl, and he finds himself scared and anxious and cynical, while Hinata remains ever the optimist. They argue more than once, Hinata disagreeing with him, adamant that it wouldn’t be right not to give someone else a chance at all, just because the two of them have already met.  
  
As a result, there’s a gap between them that they can’t quite fill, and even how well they get along can’t fix it on its own. It affects Yamaguchi and Kageyama as well, both of them uncertain to how they’re all supposed to fit together as a whole when all the pieces aren’t there. They do as well as they can, and try to wait patiently, hoping that it doesn’t take to long for their group to be complete.  
  
The day that Yachi appears in the gym for the first time is heralded by a muted shock of electricity through each of them, and when they finally meet, a wave of contentment washes over them. They all hold their wrists together in the middle of a circle and watch as the stark black ink shimmers and trembles into beautiful, full color. Yachi’s cogs don’t move, not near any of them, and she bashfully shows off the closed lily just above her collarbone that shows she has someone else herself. Hinata joyfully points out that Kiyoko has a tattoo that matches, and Yachi blushes fiercely as she glances across the gym.  
  
Kei watches as Yamaguchi walks over with her to where Kiyoko, Ennoshita, and Asahi are talking, and Asahi separates from the group to talk to his boyfriend. They’re cute together, even Kei can admit, and he’s glad that Yamaguchi’s initial fears were laid to rest with the fact that Asahi felt the same way Yamaguchi did. They’re probably one of the best matched couples that Kei’s ever seen, always soft touches and softer words, romantic gestures and tiny, sweet kisses.  
  
Yachi’s blush can be seen from across the gym as Kiyoko shows off her own lily, and then nudges Ennoshita, who reveals the same thing. Hinata takes advantage of everyone being distracted in their own way to pull Kei off to the side, and Kei follows easily, their hands warm together.  
  
Hinata stops just outside of the gym, and turns to look up at Kei with determination burning in his eyes. “Can we finally just go on a date already, you jerk?"  
  
Kei laughs. He can’t help it, and he knows he must look ridiculous, and Hinata puffs up, looking like an angry little hedgehog, and Kei can’t resist the urge to kiss him, finally. They fit together perfectly, even with all their differences, and Kei wouldn’t choose anyone else to be his soulmate.  
  
Yachi fits well into their group, in every way. She’s wonderful for the team, and studying is even easier with her around, since she needs less tutoring and can actually help teach instead. Once they get done with homework they pile together on the bed and turn on a movie. Kei is warm and comfortable, wrapped up in a giant blanket with Hinata in his lap, Yamaguchi on one side and Kageyama the other, Yachi spread out over his and Hinata’s legs. The movie is at the end, some quiet music playing as the credits roll, and Kei can tell that the others are all asleep after a long day.  
  
Kageyama snuffles into Kei’s shoulder, and Kei smiles a little as he looks them all over. Hinata and Kageyama have their fingers twined together, resting on one of Yachi’s shoulders, and he can feel Yamaguchi’s hand in his own. He’s not sure exactly when they fell into place so perfectly, in this and in life in general, but he wouldn’t change it for anything. He squeezes his arm around Hinata’s middle in a hug, rests his head against Kageyama’s, and lets himself drift off to sleep, happy and warm in the best place in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come yell at me on [tumblr](http://ryekamasaki.tumblr.com/).


End file.
